One of the disciplines of Lent is more intentional daily devotion. Some scripture, some devotional reading, some prayer, maybe even a song. We have devotional books in the lobby for you to take and experiment with for your daily devotions. (It's not too late to get started by the way, there is no rule that says if you don't start on Ash Wednesday or the 1st Sunday in Lent, that you shouldn't start at all). There are a variety of books that are geared toward adults, experienced devotional readers, people who have never done this before, people with children, high school/college aged young people - lots of choices - take two in order to check out what works for you. 

“You’re just trying to make me feel guilty!”, I yelled at my parents. They were confronting me with something (who knows what anymore, right?) and holding me accountable for whatever it was that I had done. I went on the offensive and challenged them for making me feel bad, which parents aren’t supposed to do – right?

“Well, you are guilty” one of them said. What? That wasn’t what they were supposed to say. They were supposed to tell me that they were sorry and that I shouldn’t feel guilty because that would warp me somehow. “Well, you are guilty” was the truth in this situation. They weren’t telling me how to feel, they were just challenging me to receive and accept the truth about this incident. They were right, I was guilty. When I received and accepted that truth, I was ready for another one. They forgave me. They released me from the cloud of guilt by forgiving me, not denying that I had been guilty.

Honesty is what Lent is all about. We try to sidestep our sinfulness. We try to dance around the sinful things we have done. We weasel out of the times when we are faithless or uninterested in God. Lent is a time when we receive and accept the truth about ourselves – we are guilty. The great news is that, through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, the guilt cannot break us. The truth is – God has forgiven us all of our sins. It is not about denying our guilt, it is about forgiving it, which is all different. Forgiveness acknowledges the offense, but insists that God’s love for us is greater. It demands that we remain in a loving relationship with God even though we are guilty. Forgiveness is not some psychological end-run around reality. Forgiveness adds a new reality to the reality of our guilt – restored, renewed, and beloved. It transforms us and makes us children of God, time and time again.

This Lent, we embrace two truths: our guilt through our own fault, and our redemption through God’s own love, shown to us in Jesus. That can make this a very good Lent.

Pastor Gary

As I write this, Linda and I are getting ready to travel to Tucson, AZ to visit my dad and stepmom. We are flying, and we are going to try and travel with just carry-on luggage. Now, I know for many people this is old hat, and we are only going to be gone for a week, so we can probably fit it all in to a carry-on size suitcase and another small backpack without too much of a problem – although the weather is going to be iffy, so we might need a wider variety of clothing than usual. The big problem for me is that I have to give up my knife, because no airline is going to let me travel with it on me. Usually I just put it in the checked luggage and pull it out when we arrive in Arizona – but there won’t be any checked luggage this time around.

I am attached to my knives, and they come in handy. Maybe it is an old Boy Scout “Be Prepared” thing. Some of my family members roll their eyes when I have to put it in my pocket, but then when the time comes that a blade is needed, they look to me and ask to borrow it. So, I’m going to give up the knife for this trip, and I’m going to try not to whine about it, but I’m already going through a minor withdrawal.

This has helped me think about the discipline of giving up something for Lent. After all, we talk about Lent as a journey with Jesus – watching him journey to the cross – embarking on a journey ourselves that involves self-examination and, perhaps, sacrifice. The sacrifice of giving something up for Lent is to connect us with Jesus’ giving up his life for us; it is designed to help us remove significant distractions from our lives and create time and space for us to think more about God in our lives. The sacrifice is designed to remove some of our security and comfort so that we recognize our dependence upon God for these things.

So, now my personal question is: Should I give up my knife for Lent? I’ll be back before Lent starts, so I’ll have my knife again by Ash Wednesday. But, have I discovered what I should set aside for the greater good of making more room in my life for Jesus? I’m afraid that I might have found what would be good for me to give up to help me journey with Jesus this Lent, and I’m reluctant to do so. But, of course, that makes it a real sacrifice. Well, thanks for paying attention to this. I’ll let you know what I do for Lent, and I’d like to know if there is something that would be helpful for you to give up this Lent as well.

I love camp! This Sunday, we welcome Brent Stanek, program director for Lutheran Lakeside Camp on Lake Okoboji. Brent will preach and give the children's sermon. He is not only representing Lutheran Lakeside, but will be helping us understand the ministries of all Christian camps, especially those affiliated with the ELCA. We use Lutheran Lakeside for confirmation camp, but have a number of people also attend EWALU and Riverside camps. 

Today is the last day of January and it is going to be 50 degrees – in Iowa. This is a surprise. It is a rather pleasant surprise, but it is a surprise, none the less. In fact it has been such a mild winter that it is feeling really unusual, and maybe just a little creepy. When I think of how cold and snowy the last four winters have been, this is really a dramatic change. Again, I’m not complaining. It is just throwing me off because it is so unexpected.

Epiphany is the time when God reveals who God really is. God comes in Jesus of Nazareth and we get a surprise. It is a good surprise – God comes on behalf of the poor in spirit, the mourning, the meek, the ones who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, and the peacemakers. God comes not to condemn the world but to save the world. A very nice surprise.

God does all this as a gracious gift through the death and resurrection of Jesus. A wonderful surprise, but also a little disorienting. We are used to having to earn our way – get what we deserve, and all that. It is a relief in many ways to not have to do that with God. On the other hand, it is humbling and not the way things usually work.

Epiphany reveals the God of grace and mercy. Grace is when God gives us what we don’t deserve; mercy is when God doesn’t give us what we deserve.

I am sometimes nervous around powerful people. I suppose it is because I have experienced a few powerful people who exercised that power for their own benefit and sometimes I have paid the price for that. You may have had that experience as well. It is an issue of trust. Weak people who are untrustworthy can be annoying, but powerful people who are untrustworthy can be disrupting and dangerous.

So, when Jesus is revealed as powerful, as he is in this week’s gospel reading, Mark 1:21-28, I especially pay cautious attention. I like all the stuff about Jesus being meek and mild, and forgiving and merciful, but what about Jesus when he is powerful in battle? Jesus puts a demon in his place, and not just any demon, but one who is ready to go to battle with him. Yet, with a word, he casts the demon out of an unclean person. Jesus also teaches with authority. He is powerful.

So, how will Jesus use that power? Mark is clear, in his gospel, that Jesus exercises his power for the sake of the world; for the sake of sinners. Jesus uses his power to break the power of the devil and all evil. Jesus’ power is in trustworthy hands.

It is good that Jesus is powerful and authoritative. If he were loving and merciful, but had no power, then he would be a nice guy, but he wouldn’t have the power to cause that love and mercy to transform the world, or we who live in it. Without his power, Jesus would not be able to lend his strength to us, his patience to us, or his authority to us. It is good that Jesus is powerful. I need to put aside fear and lack of trust and place my life and our world into his loving, merciful, and powerful hands.

Faith Lens, a weekly on-line Bible study for young people, helped me understand the gospel text for this Sunday. It recalled the actions of the destroyer USS Kidd which recently rescued 12 Iranian fishermen and 15 pirates(who were taken into custody) in the Persian Gulf. Iran has seriously objected to the presence of US navy ships in the area and has threatened US sailors. Still, when the call came from people needing help, the navy responded as quickly as possible. The destroyer reached the scene and used helicopters to remove the fishermen and pirates from the disabled boat and returned the fishermen to land safely. They received a call, responded, and people were saved.

This Sunday, we will hear how Jesus called four people to follow him. He was calling them to drop a career that ran in their families for generations. It was a good career. Something about the one who called, reached into Peter, Andrew, James, and John, and they responded. Maybe, it was Jesus’ words, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” They responded not so much for their own sakes as for the vision that they would be working for the sake of others – fishing for people. They adjusted their lives for the purpose of reaching out for others.

We receive the same call. It isn’t necessary for us to leave our careers. Most often, we continue right where we are, doing most of what we have always done. But, God calls us to add a new purpose to our lives – follow Jesus. Not so much for our own sakes, although it is wonderful for us, too. We follow Jesus because it is a witness to the world. We fish for others, pulling some attention from our own lives to those around us and responding to those in need with kind words, compassionate action, and disciplined lives. Each day we may find an opportunity to drop our nets, just for a bit, follow Jesus, and fish for people.

Have you ever had an important discovery? I mean, something that was a little unexpected, or totally surprising. Have you ever stumbled across something that is either so good, or so bad, that you altered the way you thought or felt about something? Then you have experienced “Epiphany”.

On the first epiphany, the wise men discovered what the star had predicted, the birth of the king of the Jews. The big surprise was that the king did not reside in the palace of Herod, but in a modest place in the small town of Bethlehem. Quite the shocker. Then an angel comes to them to send them on their way back home secretly, without a return visit to Herod. All of a sudden, their epiphany has them in the midst of a political intrigue and acting like fugitives.

During the church season of Epiphany, which lasts until mid February, we will be presented with texts that give us insight into the character of Jesus, the will of God, and the reaction of disciples. Even though we have seen these texts before, and will see them again, each time they reveal a little more to us. We become a little wiser. We have a little greater understanding about God and what it means to live for God.

Get ready for some discoveries. Get ready for these discoveries to surprise us with grace, overwhelm us with mercy, call us to faithful discipleship, and engage us with all the people that God loves dearly. Get ready for a real epiphany.

I like the Gospel according to Mark. Mark tells the story of Jesus’ ministry with power and focuses on Jesus’ actions. Mark records a number of Jesus’ parables, but doesn’t have things like the Sermon on the Mount or the Sermon on the Plain. Mark introduces Jesus as the one who has power over the demons, authority to forgive sins, and one who heals. It is this powerful one who surrenders himself to the indignity and painful death on the Cross for us. That is a dramatic contrast that catches our attention and draws us to Jesus.

I like Mark’s simple and direct language. Mark has no trouble talking about how angry Jesus may be – while Matthew and Luke will describe that same scene by saying that Jesus was “troubled”. Matthew and Luke pretty things up a bit, while Mark is blunt and allows edgy moments to remain edgy. There is an honest and straightforward character to Mark’s Gospel account that builds confidence and encourages trust.

This year most of our Gospel readings will come from Mark’s Gospel. Most Sunday’s we will be drawn into the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus by means of Mark’s telling of the Good News. You might want to take an hour or so and read through the Gospel of Mark. It was never really meant to be ready a few verses at a time. In fact, the verses were put in hundreds of years after the text was written. Mark intended it to be read as a whole, in one sitting. It is half the length of the other three gospels, so it isn’t hard to do. Such a read will introduce you to, as Mark puts it, “the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

Pastor Gary

Welcome to the third day of Christmas! I know, I know, that sounds totally weird. We have been living and breathing Christmas since shortly after Halloween. The Christmas music has been on so long, that we are getting a little tired of it. As much as we try to keep the Advent hymns before us, there is some blurring of Advent with Christmas. So, realistically, most of us are ready to move on from Christmas to the New Year celebrations and we are ready to move on NOW. Well, let’s hold off on that impulse for just a bit.

I’m not trying to get us to hold on to the hype that surrounds Christmas, nor even trying to hold on to the intensity of Christmas. I’m encouraging us to incorporate Christmas into our everyday lives. That’s what Mary and Joseph did. Once the shepherds leave the stable, Mary ponders what they said. Angels did not accompany her and Joseph every day of their lives – mostly they had pretty ordinary lives, with a few outstanding moments. This is sort of like our lives. But amidst all the ordinary, and in mostly ordinary ways, was Jesus. He needed to be cared for as a child, he needed to be taught and apprenticed as a young man, and he continued to be part of the family.

So, let’s make Jesus part of our family. It doesn’t have to be in some hectic, frantic, or really intense sort of way. Prayer, weekly worship, learning, fellowship, and remembrance would be good ways of keeping Jesus part of the family. Any of these are good ways to continue Christmas in the simple rhythms of our lives, while still having the power and joy of Christmas with us. Practice it for the remainder of the twelve days of Christmas and see how it goes.